Vending machine



July 26, 1932.

G. J. MCLAREN VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. '7. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l ad qa/@EM A July 26, 1932. G. J. MCLAREN 1,869,070

VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 7, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 26, 1932 vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GERALD J. MCLAREN, OFBALLSTON SPA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GILBERT J'. SCOFIE-LDV COMPANY, INC., OF WATERVLIET, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK VENDING MACHINE Application filed August 7, 1930. Serial No. 473,627.

to the customer upon a predetermined opera-V tion of the mechanism followed by the deposit of the appropriate coin.

The primary obj ect of the present invention is the provision of an article carrier automatically operative from the front or the rear of the machine and serving, when in articleholding position, to support the article closely adjacent the glass front of the machine to permit convenient selection and acting, when released by the action of a coin, to move toward the rear of the machine, carrying the article into a vertically unobstructed passage, through which the article falls by gravity to a convenient delivery position accessible to the customer.

. A further object of the invention is the provision of a plurality of article carriers arranged in vertical alignment and selectively movable to discharge position at the will of the customer, the construction of the article carriers being such that the movement of any y one carrier to a discharge position will not interfere with the complete discharge of articles of any superimposed carrier in the operation of that carrier to discharge position.

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the improved machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation partly broken out of the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the article carriers.

Figure 4is-a sectional view illustrating a simple type of coin controlled mechanism for a better understanding of the operation of the machine. i l

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5. l The invention includes an ornamental case 1 supported upon a suitable hase 2 andvprovided with a door 3 hinged at 4 and including a glass panel 5, the door being secured in closed position by a conventional lock 6. Arranged within the `casing 1 is a metallic housingincluding .side walls 7 and a rear wall 8, the housing being fully open at the front. The vertical dimensions of the housing correspond to the similar dimensions of the casing 1, while the transverse dimensions of the housing are somewhat less than the similar dimensions of the casing so that the side walls 7 of the housing are spaced to some extent from the side walls of the casing.

The housing at appropriate intervals is formed with a plurality of superimposed fixed shelves 9. These shelves, of which there may be any number in accordance with the articles to be vended, are in the form of plate-like elements, the side edges of which are secured to the side walls 7 of the housing, and the front edges of which are coincident with the forward edges of the side Walls 7. Arranged in the horizontal plane of the shelves 9 and extending rearwardly beyond the shelves are narrow guide strips 10. These strips are arranged immediately adjacent the side walls 7 of the housing and form in effect continuations of the shelf 9, over such shelf to the rear wall 8 of the housing.

The depth of the shelves, that is, the dimension from the front to the rear of the housing, is substantially one-hall: the similar dimension of the housing. Thus the series of shelves in` superimposed relation occupy the forward one-half of the housing, while the rear half of the housing throughout its full vertical dimension is Wholly free and 11nobstructed except for the very narrow guide strips 10.- Y

An article carrier 11, illustrated more particularly in Figure 3 is 'arranged for cooperation with each shelf A9. The carrier includes a rear wall 12 having a height slightly less than the distance between ad jacent shelves 9 and side Walls 13 of the full height of the rear wall. The front of the carrier is formed by a grating 14 including a skeleton rectangular frame 14 and vertically arranged spaced bridging strips 15. The grating 14 is hingedly connected at its appropriate lower end to the side walls 13 and formed at its upper end with notches 16 having snap cooperation with pins 16 projecting from the side walls 13. Thus the grating may be secured in place to complete the carrier and held against casual displacement while being capable of being swung down on its hinged connection to facilitate the placingA of articles of merchandise in the particular carrier while the latter is in operative position.

The width of the carrier is such that the side walls 13 bear with a sliding fit against the side walls 7 of the housing, and the carrier is guided in movement through pins 17 projecting from the side walls 13 and seating in slots 18 formed in the side walls 7 of the housing. as to permit a forward, rearward movement of the carrier, as will later appear, and this movement is normally influenced by springs 19 which are connected at one end to the terminals of the pin 17 beyond the walls 7 of the housing' and at the other end to an pin at the rear edge of the housing or casing, as the case may be.

The normal position of the article carriers 11 is immediately overlying the shelves 9, and to hold the carriers normally in such position one side wall of the housing 7 is formed on its outer side with a pawl 2O pivotally supported at 21 and having a forward edge 22 which, under the influence of a spring 23, normally rests in a position to intercept the rearward movement of the adj acent pin 17. Thus when the carriers are in position over the shelves 9, the pawl 2O presents the edge 22'in the path of the pin 17 and rearward movement of the carrier is prevented.

The coin controlled mechanism is, of course, designed to lift this pawl 20 and permit the carrier to move rearwardly under the influence of the springs 19. While it is designed that any convenient coin controlled mechanism may be used for this purpose, a

simple type of such will beV described inorder that the operation of the machine may be thoroughly understood. Arranged on the outer surface of that wall of the housing on which the pawls 2O are mountedare spaced strips 24 defining a coin chute 25 communieating at the upper end with an entrance 26 into which the appropriate coin is to be deposited. Movable transversely of the coin chute, one for each shelf 9, is a push bar 27 which extends through the forward wall of the casing 1 and terminates in a button 2S by which it may be conveniently operated. The push bar at an appropriate point in its length has a depending, rounded portion 29 on which ardeposited coin will initially rest, the push bar in rear of the rounded portion being on a plane below the forward portion of such bar, as at 30, and operativevin suit- The slots 18 are of such lengthable guides 31 on the outer surface of the side wall 7 of the housing. The coin chute is so arranged that a forwardly extending, upwardly rounded lip 32 extending from the pawl forms in conjunction with the coin seat 29 a means for retaining the coin, indicated at 33, in an initially operative position.

Thus when the selected commodity is desired to be delivered from the machine, the particular push 'bar 27 is moved outwardly, the coin deposited, and the push bar then pushed inwardly. Tn the inward movement of the push bar, the coin operates through the extension 32 to displace the particular pawl 2O from holding` cooperation with the pin 17 and thereby release the particular carrier to the influence of the springs 19 which, of course, move the carrier from a position above the particular shelf to the article position above the guides 10. In the rearward movement of the push bar, the coin is deflected by a cam or wedge 34 laterally of the push bar, that is, of the seat 29, and permitted to drop into a coin receptacle (not shown) in the lower portion of the machine. Thus, any particular carrier, that is, any particular commodity on a carrier, may be selected for delivery and after the described operation of the push bar the article will be delivered.

As the present invention is more particularly concerned with the article carrier and the means for delivering the article, the operation of such carrier will be more particularly described. Tt is noted that the carrier is of skeleton form, that is, has no bottom, and that when such carrier is in the forward position, the fixed shelf 9 forms a bottom therefor which, in charging the machine, serves to receive and support the various articles to be vended. It is further noted that the entire vertical and transverse dimensions of the housing in rear of the rear edge of the shelves 9 present a wholly free, unobstructed, vertical passage aside from the narrow restrictions of the guides lO. Thus the forward half of the housing is interrupted at spaced intervals by the fixed shelves 9, while the rear half of such housing is wholly uninterrupted.

Upon release of the carrier to the influence of the springs 19 as selectively controlled by the customer through the operation of the push bar, the article to be vended is moved by the carrier rearwardly off the shelf 9 by the upstan'ding projections or fingers 15 and carried into a position in alignment with the unobstructed passage at the rear of the housing. This movement causes the desired article to be moved from its shelf 9 to a position in rear of the housing, where it is unsupported and it is immediately delivered by gravity to the bottom of the machine, lodging on a forwardly and downwardly inclined guide shelf 34by which it is delivered to the forward lower portion of the casing formed with an opening 35 accessible to the customer for the withdrawal of the article.

Each carrier when in operated position, that is, with its rear wall l2 against the rear wall 8 of the housing, does not in any way interfere with the free and unobstructed rear passage of the housing, for the bottom of the carrier is fully open' and thus the operation of any one carrier in the lower portion of the machine will not thereafter interfere with the free delivery of any article actuated by an upper carrier, as will be apparent.

Vhile the invention is illustrated as indicating a single vertical line of shelves 9 arranged in superimposed relation, it will, of course, be understood thatl the construction contemplates any number of shelves, or more particularly any desired number of groups of shelves. Thus the machine may present several vertical groups of shelves, each of which will be arranged in an independent housing and each provided with its own article carrier, as described. Thus the machine may be constructed of any width or height and carry any number of independent articles to be vended, the sole requirement being that the articles to be vended must be limited in surface dimension to the distance between the rear wall 12 and upstanding fingers 16 of the carriers and between the free edges of the strips l5 of suc-h carrier so that the article when in position may be supported wholly by the shelf 9.

I claim l. An article vender for coin controlled apparatus including a housing formed in the forward portion with a plurality of fixed, vertically superimposed shelves, that portion of the housing in rear of the shelves presenting a free, vertically unobstructed passage, and a bottomless carrier cooperating with each shelf and including a rear wall, side walls and an upstanding hinge guard at the forward portion, said carrier enclosing the articles supported on the shelf and operating when moved rearwardly with respect to the` shelf to move the article in line with the vertical unobstructed passage at the rear of the casing, means serving when free to act to move the carrier into the rear discharge p0- sition, and manually operable means capable of selective release for normally holding the Y carrier in the forward article retaining position against the influence of the rearward moving means.

2. An article vender for coin controlled apparatus including a housing formed at the forward portion with a fixed shelf and presenting a vertical, free, unobstructed passage at the rear of the shelf, a bottomless carrier designed to overlie the shelf, means for guiding the carrier from a position above the shelf to a position in line with the rear vertical passage in the housing, whereby the full area of the bottomless carrier is in line with the passage at the rear of the shelf, springs for compelling such movement of the carrier, and a pawl for normallyl holding the carrier against such movement.

3. An article Vender for coin controlled apparatus including a housing formed in the forward portion with a plurality of horizontally arranged, superimposed shelves, that portion of the housing in rear of the shelves presenting a free, unobstructed, vertical passage, narrow guide strips extending transverse said passage in line with each shelf, a bottomless carrier formed with article-moving grilled front and normally arranged above and in contact with each shelf, and means for moving the carrier rearwardly on said guide strips to position said carrier and the article moved thereby in line with the free, unobstructed passage at the rear of the housing, said means including pins projecting from the carrier and guided in slots formed in the walls of the housing, and springs terminally connected to said pins and to the housing.

4L. An article vender for coin controlled apparatus including` a housing formed in the forward portion with a plurality of horizontally arranged, superimposed shelves, that portion of the housing in rear of the shelves presenting a free, unobstructed, vertical passage, narrow guide strips extending transverse said passage in line with each shelf, a bottomless carrier formed with article-Inoving fingers and normally arranged above and in contact with each shelf, means for moving the carrier rearwardly on said guide strips to position said carrier and the article moved thereby in line with the free, unobstructed passage at the rear of the housing, said means including pins projecting from the carrier and guided in slots formed in the walls of the housing, springs terminally connected to said pins and to the housing, and means Carried by the housing to cooperate with one of said pins to prevent movement of the carrier under the influence of the springs.

In testimony whereof I aliiX my signature.

GERALD J. MCLAREN. 

